MTA Higher Education Conference

Public Higher Education: Confronting the Challenges is the theme of an upcoming conference being hosted by the MTA and the Higher Education Leadership Council.

The conference – to be held on Friday, Oct. 28 and Saturday, Oct. 29 – will give MTA members the chance to network with colleagues working at public higher ed campuses all over the state, build professional skills and learn more about the issues facing public higher education in Massachusetts and beyond, as well as plan for the future. The event will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Natick.

“This conference is a great opportunity for MTA members to learn and grow, engage one another and, most importantly, have a say in the future direction of our union,” said Joe LeBlanc, president of the Massachusetts Community College Council and chairman of the MTA Higher Education Leadership Council. “This is an opportunity for us to come together and strategize ways to build our collective strength.

“There are many ways to become involved – and now is the time to do so,” LeBlanc added.

The conference will open on Friday evening with dinner and an update from Jim Rice, a Quinsigamond Community College professor who heads the National Council for Higher Education, the higher ed caucus of the NEA. On Saturday, a high-ranking NEA officer will brief members about what is happening on the national political landscape at the opening plenary session.

NEA President Dennis Van Roekel and MTA President Paul Toner will address the crowd and answer questions in the afternoon.

Two rounds of 90-minute workshops covering three different areas – career success, legal issues and higher ed policy, including legislative activity and funding – will take place Saturday morning. Workshop titles include Workplace Bullying; Analyzing Your Institution’s Financial Statements; Accountability/Student Outcome Measurements in Public Higher Education; Handling Common Workplace Issues, Including Classroom Management and Codes of Conduct; Legal Realities of Electronic Communications and the Internet; and the Public/Private Partnership Trend. There will also be sessions updating state and national legal issues and state legislative issues.